Why You Should Combine Facebook and Instagram Ads
1. Shared Audience Data:
Meta uses the same backend for Facebook and Instagram advertising. This means your custom audiences, lookalike audiences, and pixel data are shared across both platforms. By running integrated campaigns, you leverage this data for better targeting precision.
2. Increased Reach:
With over 3.8 billion combined monthly active users, Facebook and Instagram provide immense opportunities to expand your reach. Instagram alone has 2 billion monthly active users, many of whom do not use Facebook actively. Running campaigns across both platforms ensures you don’t miss key segments.
3. Enhanced Engagement:
Instagram tends to have higher engagement rates, especially with younger demographics. Utilizing Instagram placement can lift overall ad engagement for campaigns that also run on Facebook.
4. Improved Ad Creative Versatility:
Different formats excel on different platforms. For example, Stories and Reels on Instagram are highly effective for mobile-first, full-screen experiences, while Facebook excels with in-feed posts and detailed link shares. A combined strategy allows you to tailor creatives to each platform's strengths.
Best Practices to Optimize Facebook Ads Using Instagram
Instagram placements often deliver 23 % share of ad spend and 20 % of impressions when paired with Facebook—yet only around 9 % of clicks—highlighting the need for tailored creative and placement strategy
1. Use Automatic Placements, Then Refine
Start by enabling automatic placements to let Meta's algorithm allocate budget based on performance. Once enough data is collected, analyze which placements perform best and allocate budget accordingly. Often, Instagram Stories and Facebook News Feed are top performers.
2. Customize Creative for Each Platform
Use platform-specific visuals. For example:
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Instagram: High-impact, vertical visuals for Stories and Reels.
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Facebook: Descriptive headlines and carousel formats for desktop and mobile.
Optimized ad creative is crucial to improve CTR (Click Through Rate) and reduce CPC (Cost Per Click).
3. Retarget Across Platforms
Leverage Meta Pixel and in-app engagement to retarget users on both platforms. A user who clicked your Facebook ad but didn’t convert can be re-engaged with an Instagram ad, often leading to higher conversion rates.
4. Split-Test Placements and Audiences
Run A/B tests to compare audience segments and placements. For example, test Instagram-only vs Facebook-only vs combined placements. This helps in identifying where your audience is most responsive.
5. Align Messaging and Funnel Stages
Use Facebook for awareness and educational content, and Instagram for engagement and conversion-focused messaging. This creates a full-funnel approach that maximizes ROI.
Key Metrics to Monitor
As of January 2025, Instagram’s ad audience grew globally by 5.5 %, with strong representation in the 18–24 and 25–34 age brackets—making it ideal for targeting young, engaged users
To track performance across Facebook and Instagram, keep a close eye on:
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CPM (Cost Per Mille)
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CTR (Click Through Rate)
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ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
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Frequency
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Engagement Rate
According to Meta, campaigns that use multiple placements typically see a 71% higher conversion rate and lower cost per result than those using a single platform.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
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Using the same ad creative across both platforms without adjustment.
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Ignoring Instagram placements altogether.
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Not analyzing placement-specific performance metrics.
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Forgetting to retarget users across both platforms.
Final Thoughts
Optimizing Facebook Ads with Instagram campaigns isn’t just a trend — it’s a strategic necessity in 2025. With shared data infrastructure and complementary user behaviors, these platforms offer an unmatched opportunity for audience targeting, retargeting, and conversion. By applying platform-specific creative strategies, audience insights, and testing methods, you can drastically improve campaign performance.
